(Alliance News) - National Express Group PLC and Stagecoach Group PLC have agreed to an all-share merger that will see the UK's two largest transport providers combine operations.
The announcement on Tuesday followed talks between the two that were first announced back in September.
The public transport peers will form a combined group with a fleet of around 40,000 vehicles and a workforce of approximately 70,000 staff.
National Express is based in Birmingham, England, while Stagecoach is based in Perth, Scotland. The combined business will be headquartered in Birmingham. It will continue to use the Stagecoach brand.
Following completion of the merger, Stagecoach shareholders will own about 25% and National Express shareholders will own around 75% of the combined group.
The deal will see Stagecoach shareholders receive 0.36 of new National Express shares for each Stagecoach share they hold.
Stagecoach shares were up 6.7% at 80.00 pence each on Tuesday morning in London. National Express was up 0.4% at 236.20p. National Express has a market capitalisation of GBP1.45 billion, versus GBP439 million for Stagecoach.
National Express Chief Executive Ignacio Garat commented: "The proposed combination of National Express and Stagecoach, and the unique strengths of both companies and their teams, will create a leading multi-modal passenger transport business in the UK, aiming to deliver superb services to customers and forging the way to a carbon free future with a new generation of zero-emission buses and coaches."
Stagecoach Chair Ray O'Toole has been named as chair of the combined group, leveraging his prior experience across both businesses, while John Armitt will step down from his chairmanship of National Express.
National Express CEO Garat and Chief Financial Officer Chris Davies will keep those roles in the combined group.Their opposite numbers at Stagecoach, Martin Griffiths and Ross Paterson, will depart.
Separately, Stagecoach announced that it will sell the marketing, retail and customer service activities of three of its inter-city coach businesses to ComfortDelGro Corp Ltd in a GBP8.8 million deal expected to complete February 28.
Stagecoach will offload its 35% stake in Scottish Citylink Coaches, a joint venture between Stagecoach and CDG, which markets and retails inter-city coach services in Scotland and between Scotland and England. Its UK Megabus business along with its Falcon South-West coach division also will be sold as part of the deal.
The sale will see GBP7 million payable in cash at completion and an existing shareholder loan of GBP1.8 million extended to Stagecoach by Scottish Citylink.
By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
